Young Stars

Taken too early

As the popular Billy Joel song goes, “Only the good die young”. In Hollywood, that’s partly true. And there are many entertainers who die before they have a chance to develop. Their potential is robbed at an early age, and the public is left shocked, abandoned and questioning nature’s ways. Marilyn Monroe, James Dean and River Phoenix are among the most famous legends of American cinema who died young.

Marilyn Monroe is arguably one of the most famous American pop icons. She was an actress, a singer and a model. Born in California in 1926, her life was unstable from the start. Never knowing her father and having a mentally unsound mother, young Marilyn was tossed around from one foster family to the next. She often felt lonely. But things improved as she got older. In 1944, she was working in a parachute factory. One day, photographers took her photo as part of a feature on women’s contribution to the war effort. The photos were a great success, and years later, she became an A-list actress, starring in films such as Some Like it Hot and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. At the age of 36, after winning awards and the acclamation of famous directors and fellow actors, Marilyn was at the top of her career. Unfortunately, on 5th August 1962, four days after a marriage proposal from Joe DiMaggio, Marilyn Monroe was found dead. Sedatives were found in her blood, but the autopsy could not determine if she had died from suicide or homicide.